Shower handle sticking out too far

**jadnashua** · 09-22-2009, 04:28 PM

No, the answer is to understand the installation instructions, and trial fit the trim if you aren't familiar with the thing prior to determining where to place the rough-in valve. This is something a pro learns early on, and a DIY'er may have to learn the hard way. Depending on your wall finish - tile, fiberglass, solid-surface, etc., the depth will differ. From the manufacturer's perspective, it the trim fits, it is acceptable. Personally, I don't like it sticking out at the maximum, but it's not 'wrong', as it is fully functional.

hj · 09-23-2009, 06:22 AM

1. I hope you anchored that elbow for the spout better than your picture shows it.
2. If a plumber put the tub in and out several times to get the valve in "exactly the right location", wherever that is, the customer would start looking at the clock and wonder how much it was costing him.
3. We would have installed an adapter elbow rather than that copper and adapter method you used.

**daddio** · 10-17-2009, 01:38 PM

I seem to have this same problem of too much handle shaft showing when I trial fit. I have not tiled yet, but I cant move the valve back due to obstructions. Would a double layer of 1/2" hardibacker work?

Has anybody tried those Moen escutcheon extender rings, and how do they look and work?

**jadnashua** · 10-17-2009, 05:27 PM

A second layer of cbu would work but it may mean some asymmetry you'd have to live with. All of the extender rings I've seen were to allow trim to fit if the valve was too far in the wall, not too far out. Not that they couldn't make one that would work that way.

**daddio** · 10-18-2009, 03:01 AM

Its called an Escutcheon Extension, Moen part 162.
None of the suppliers around here are familiar with it and I have only seen it on line and mentioned in this thread.
http://www.faucet-warehouse.com/Moen...-bronze/162orb
Anybody seen one?
For $81 bucks for the ORB version, it had better fit perfectly and be beautiful!

**johnfrwhipple** · 10-18-2009, 09:10 AM

Speaking from the side of General Contractor on these lay out points here goes my two bits.

I have found that the rough in trims can be wrong. It happens too often to trust them. Some times you only get the rough in and you need to wait for the trim. So do you wait 3-5 weeks for the trim to nail it - maybe. If you are the type of client that wants it spot on it's the only way.

Every plumber asks the wall thickness. Then sets that rough in in place. What I find happening is that there is no thought or care given to what the plumber has to do to do his job. No backer boards ready, no rough stock etc. In my opinion a plumber shouldn't have to show up on site with a skill saw and lumber.

That cavity that is going to have the rough in installed should have a 2"x10" screwed to the back side of the wall cavity. Scraps of plywood to be used for furring strips ready for use.

Give the Man/Woman the tools to nail it and make it easy and they most likely raise there game.

It happens to often that these points are missed. I believe most times the fault lies in the project manager - the GC. I have learned these lessons only after building bathroom after bathroom.

Get all your fixtures, un-package them and keep all the manuals together - make a book for the plumber. have your plumber put the trim and rough in togehter before the torch even gets brought up. Look for yourself at the adjustment amounts.

My thoughts.

Good luck.

**Fistor** · 10-23-2009, 03:35 PM

Originally Posted by cmccowan

Add me to the list of victims of the Moen shower kit from Home Depot (82910 Banburry in my case). The walls were out when it was installed and I now have it covered with drywall and tile. The gap is at least an inch.

I think the take home message is please avoid this product.

Same problem for me, exactly...

The issue here is, like some people mentioned, the "instructions" that came with the kit are pictorial only - which is fine, because like the other guy, I too am an engineer, and am used to reading drawings.

The problem is, no dimensions whatsoever were included on my instruction sheet - it simply showed "thin wall" vs. "thick wall" (i.e. one with tile). No indication of setback of the valve body, etc. were given.

I believe that the general consensus stated here is correct - Moen simply included an "extension" that is more than long enough to cover the variability in most "thick" walls, with the downside that it is generally too long to sit flush. As a DIY'er, I didn't have the experience to accurately judge the wall thickness vs. the seating of the extension within the handle, and now mine too sticks out.

Question: would it not be possible to use a hacksaw to shorten this metal extension by a certain amount that it would then seat properly?

**daddio** · 10-26-2009, 01:44 PM

I doubt you could just cut it off shorter. There are some plastic inserts that go in the shaft.
The solution seems to be either resetting the valve back in the wall or using that Moen part 162 escutcheon extension.

**daddio** · 11-10-2009, 01:36 PM

Anybody try Moen part 162 escutcheon extension to fix this problem?

Originally Posted by daddio

I doubt you could just cut it off shorter. There are some plastic inserts that go in the shaft.
The solution seems to be either resetting the valve back in the wall or using that Moen part 162 escutcheon extension.

**johncommode** · 02-23-2010, 07:10 AM

So I realize this thread has been going on for a couple years now, but I also ran into this problem. I didn't rush in buying the Moen extension plate. I instead went over to the local Home Depot and just started walking around looking for anything that I could mount on the front or back of the mounting plate and with a matching Satin Nickel finish.

In the faucet repair isle I found a satin nickel lavatory mounting ring (http://204.202.233.236/details.asp?ProdID=85) that worked quite nicely. Using some adhesive caulk, I glued the included rubber washer to the mounting ring and then the ring to the mounting plate.

The end result looks better than what I would have achieved with a correct install.

hj · 02-24-2010, 07:04 AM

IF Moen thinks the valve should not protrude more than 3/4", WHY do they design it so that you can have 1 1/2", or more, showing? Just make it so that it can only protrude from 1/4" to 3/4", and then design a bunch of "adapters" to use when the customer decides he wants a thicker, or thinner, finish on the wall.

**supermattthehero** · 05-15-2010, 09:25 PM

Just wanted to add that I had my contractor install a Moentrol shower valve, and was extremely pissed off when it was sticking out over 1", just like many of you. I ripped it all out and now am doing it again.

This time I will try placing the valve so that the plaster ground is flush with the studs, since I have 1/2" durock and 1/4" tile with thinset, just as mrhutton suggests.

hj · 05-17-2010, 09:36 AM

quote; This time I will try placing the valve so that the plaster ground is flush with the studs, since I have 1/2" durock and 1/4" tile with thinset

And when you do that you are NOT following the Moen's installation instructions, which WE would when installing the valve. Otherwise WE might end up having to buy a stem extension because the handle does NOT fit the stem. And when we did that, the extension would be 1" long which means the handle would wind up almost EXACTLY where it started out before you redid the installation.

**supermattthehero** · 05-17-2010, 09:47 AM

Originally Posted by hj

quote; This time I will try placing the valve so that the plaster ground is flush with the studs, since I have 1/2" durock and 1/4" tile with thinset

And when you do that you are NOT following the Moen's installation instructions, which WE would when installing the valve. Otherwise WE might end up having to buy a stem extension because the handle does NOT fit the stem. And when we did that, the extension would be 1" long which means the handle would wind up almost EXACTLY where it started out before you redid the installation.

That's great. Keep up that contractor-inspired attitude of "CYA." It's good for you and mediocre for the customer.

If you haven't been keeping up with this thread, many of Moen's customers including myself don't like the way that the valve looks as installed in accordance with the instructions. So, we decide to do it over, or fix it. Thankfully, user "mrhutton" has researched the problem carefully and provided a solution that would appear to leave the valve functional and with the desired cosmetic result.

It's really just a matter of preference. One thing you can be sure of though, as a plumber, is that if the customer isn't happy when you leave, it will be the last time he/she calls you.

hj · 05-17-2010, 04:05 PM

This is another, "I WANT my Moen valve to look like the one on the display board", when that one was NOT assembled according to Moen's specifications. Moen has a plastic "plate" that is designed to be flush with the finished wall, and WHEN it is installed that way, the handle looks EXACTLY like the ones shown in these pictures. YOU, the customer, can install it with the plate anywhere you want it, because if the handle doesn't fit, it is YOUR problem. IF I install the valve, I will use Moen's specifications, regardless of what you WANT, because otherwise I may have to furnish an extension which will place the handle even further out.